Angels and Wormholes

A star-faring religious cult has created an army of robotic zealots designed to follow holy scripture. As the robotic menace spreads across the galaxy, it takes prisoners to be 'excommunicated': hooked into a neural simulation of eternal torment.
Ca...

Victor Underwood tapped in the command. The front viewscreen blinked to reveal a featureless sphere, surrounded by a mass of red blips.

"How many ships are we looking at?" Rolland kept his eyes on the display.

"More than a hundred," Victor replied. "I'll work on the detail."

The image morphed with the integration of incoming data. Mountains poked up from the smooth sphere in some places and valleys crinkled down into others, and the imposing flock of ships increased in resolution. Alongside the image, the tactical display blinked intermittently, cycling through vessels of the Catechumen fleet.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news -" Weapons Specialist Katherine Fisher swivelled from her console "- but that fleet could go toe to toe with the Federation."

"You're sure?" Rolland glanced to Fisher.

"Look at that ship -" Katherine nodded up to the viewscreen "- over two thousand kilometers across."

"That's bigger than the Fuchai." Keenan stared awestruck at the colossal vessel, much larger than the Federation's defensive flagship.

"That's the biggest -" Katherine Fisher motioned to the screen "- but not by much. And that fleet's got more than a hundred ships."

The crew stared in silentce at the immense armada of cross shaped vessels orbitting the former Clarion colony.

"How?" Rolland looked down from the screen towards Fisher. "How did they build all this?"

A robed figure appeared in place of the tactical scans. The bearded old man was cloaked in black and red fabric. He stood in a large room with walls of stained glass. The man spoke slowly: "I am Cardinal Abidan, Auditor of the Star Ship Testament. Please identify yourself, and state your purpose here."